


After the Storm

by Jadeleaf



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Multiple injuries, ginaka if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23825830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadeleaf/pseuds/Jadeleaf
Summary: Akane and the others arrive at Sanctuary just in time, but Ginoza's wounds are even worse than they first appear.
Relationships: Ginoza Nobuchika & Tsunemori Akane
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	After the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place within Crime and Punishment. Any feedback, positive or negative, would be greatly appreciated.

Akane felt relief flood through her even as the blizzard-like conditions threatened to abort their descent. Three figures in orange stood in front of the complex with two others – one of them a child – and slowly the pieces of the case clicked together in her mind. As the aircraft landed, Sugo rushed ahead, helping the others trudge through the snow. 

At first, none of them appeared worse for wear, but then Akane’s eyes fell on Ginoza, who was being supported by Kunizuka on his right side and had a hovering Sugo on his left. Blood dripped down his face from a head wound, and Sugo was doing his best to cover up hole in the orange jacket where Ginoza’s arm should have been.

For a moment, fear overtook sense and she stood frozen in place, unable to see how she could help. It was Shimotsuki who reached her first, dragging the woman from before to the aircraft with the boy clinging to both women’s jackets.

“We need to get everyone out of this.”

The wind snatched her voice away so that Akane barely heard, even though Shimotsuki was practically shouting in her ear. 

“Any other survivors?”

She shook her head and Akane went to the woman’s other side to help. She tried not to glance back at Ginoza, but worry continued to gnaw at her.

Hinakawa took her hand, pulling them onto the aircraft. She walked as quickly as she could to the pilot AI to plot their route back. However, before she could return, Kunizuka approached from behind. She had already removed her large orange jacket.

“Is it possible to turn up the temperature?”

The system gave an affirmative and the two women made their way back into the hold just as the engines sped up, taking the aircraft higher against the buffeting winds. They lurched to the side suddenly, forcing both Kunizuka and Akane to hold onto the railing as they made their way back to the others.

“Where’s your jacket?”

“I gave it to Ginoza. Sugo thinks he might have frostbite.” She paused, then added in a lower voice, “I think he’s also lost a significant amount of blood. He passed out for a moment just before you arrived.”

Akane nodded to indicate she had heard and brought up her wrist communicator, calling through to headquarters to request a medical team to meet them on arrival. She reached the main hold and looked across the passengers, lined up along each side.

Despite the aircraft still shaking, Kunizuka looked surprisingly graceful as she moved with each shudder. Akane watched in fascination as Kunizuka nonchalantly sat next to the woman, and engaged her in quiet conversation. The young boy was between the woman and Shimotsuki. Both watched Ginoza across the way as he was wrapped in as many warm clothes as Sugo and Hinakawa could muster. Ginoza’s head was slumped forward, but he managed to look up as Akane approached far less gracefully than Kunizuka. She almost stumbled into him, but stopped herself in time.

“How are you feeling?”

He succeeded in giving her a weak smile, which quickly turned into a grimace, his head lolling forward again. Sugo, who had been watching him intently, hovered close with his arms out ready to catch Ginoza should he faint. Akane kneeled down so she could keep her balance and get a better look at Ginoza’s face.

The blood from his head wound looked as if it had already dried, but Akane found herself bringing a hand to his cheek to make sure. His skin was cold and he shivered at the warmth. She heard him take a shaky breath before his eyes opened and focussed on her, forcing another grateful smile. Akane managed to smile back, bringing her other hand to his neck. Thankfully, the skin there felt warmer. She gave his face another more thorough check, finding the blood had already sealed the cut before pulling away. Her eyes met Sugo’s. With Hinakawa keeping a close eye on Ginoza, Akane pulled herself over to Sugo’s other side. 

“I’m worried about the skin around his shoulder. His prosthetic has a high ratio of metal and it was directly exposed to sub-zero temperatures while he was fighting.” He briefly glanced back at Ginoza. “That he’s in pain is hopefully a good sign. It means the skin is already thawing, but I’m more concerned about the inner tissue. Anything dead would have to be surgically removed.”

She remembered visiting Ginoza in isolation soon after his surgery. The idea of him having to go through a complete rebuild of his shoulder made her feel sick.

“He also has another injury on his left side, which likely needs to be properly sealed. I think I could see some bleeding through the bandages, but I didn’t want to expose him for long.”

Akane managed a nod, while attempting to formulate a plan. It was too soon to begin questioning the others about what had happened, plus Shimotsuki’s reports were always thorough. Time seemed to slow as they sped back towards headquarters and Akane found herself constantly glancing between passengers to check they were all right. Her shoulders barely relaxed as they landed on the headquarters’ roof and the medical team took Ginoza inside.

“Is Mr Ginoza going to be ok?”

Shimotsuki bent down to the young boy’s level and Akane wondered if she would need to step in. However, the junior inspector surprised her as she took the boy’s hands and gave them a soft squeeze.

“Ginoza’s the toughest member of our team. He just needs to rest a little.”

She moved to stand, but startled a little when she realised Akane was still within hearing distance. She blushed.

“Do you mind processing Yasaka and her nephew? I need to speak with Chief Kasei.”

* * *

Processing didn’t take as long as Akane feared. Both were given a check-up by the medical team and Yasaka was taken into holding ahead of her transfer to a more secure isolation facility. The boy was expected to be handed over to another part of the Ministry of Welfare that processed children with no legal guardian, but given his anxiety, Akane managed to persuade staff to let him stop by Ginoza first.

“Are you sure it’s wise to let the boy interact with more latent criminals?”

Akane ignored the steely question and navigated the child into the medical department. She was quickly vindicated when they entered Ginoza’s room and the boy’s face lit up. Sat in a chair next to his bed, with an IV in his right arm, Ginoza smiled.

Even with most of his torso, left shoulder, and head wrapped in bandages Ginoza managed to look almost relaxed as he ruffled the child’s hair and asked how he was doing. The boy answered with quiet shyness, but grew in confidence as Ginoza engaged him in conversation. The three sat together and chatted about trivial things – the boy’s eyes went wide when Ginoza mentioned his dog – but soon the other department officials arrived.

“You’ll come and visit me, right?”

“As soon as I’m better.”

They waved at each other until the door was completely shut. Akane smiled, knowing even without a dominator that the boy’s hue had likely improved from the visit. However, her relief was short-lived when Ginoza hissed behind her. She turned around to see him struggling not to curl in on himself and reopen any wounds. He took short, shaky breaths, wincing as his ribs moved even a fraction.

“Ginoza…”

He held up his hand, which seemed to be the only thing from the waste up that wasn’t injured. “There should be some painkillers on the side. You mind?”

There was a side table she rushed over to investigate. Luckily the correct medication had been left out, so she picked them up and put them in his palm. Once she was sure they weren’t about to fall out of his hand, she poured a glass of water from the nearby sink and brought it over. 

His hands shook as he barely managed to get the pills into his mouth. Taking pity, Akane held onto the glass and brought it towards his face, tipping it when he was ready. Ginoza managed a grateful smile before swallowing the water and pills together.

“Thanks,” he said, still shaking from the pain.

“Should I get a doctor?”

Ginoza shook his head. “I imagine they can’t do much more.” He chuckled, then winced. “They’re certain I should be dead.”

If Akane had been worried before, she was definitely concerned now.

“How bad is it?”

“Wound on my left side should heal the fastest, since it was mostly superficial. Head is similar, although I think they want to keep an eye on me for any signs of concussion.”

Akane kneeled in front of him and, after checking it was all right, rested her arms above his knees so she could see his eyes more clearly. After satisfying herself that she couldn’t see anything wrong, she leaned away, but still kept her arms in place. There was something comforting about keeping contact with him. Perhaps it was the reassurance that he wasn’t about to disappear.

“They look fine to me.”

“Mind telling my doctors that? I’d rather not be woken up every few hours by medics checking I haven’t died yet.”

Akane squeezed his knee, not trusting herself to touch Ginoza anywhere else without causing him further pain.

“What else?”

Ginoza’s expression shifted and, for a moment, Akane was pulled back in time to when they were both inspectors and one of the enforcers had done something he particularly disagreed with. She had forgotten how intimidating he could be when he wanted. However, it was gone again before she could question its presence.

“Multiple broken ribs, and the area around my shoulder will have to be completely rebuilt. The prosthetic took almost all the shock when I fell, but because of the angle, I ended up with some of the fitting shoved into my shoulder joint – which of course broke my collar bone. Oh, and I got frostbite,” he added, a little sardonically. 

“How long do they think recovery will take?”

Ginoza seemed to deflate a little at the question. “Probably a few weeks, since they’ll need to completely rebuild my arm, and they can only start when everything else has healed.”

“That’s ok,” she said, trying to be reassuring. “You can take as long as you need to get better.”

Akane had hoped her words would cheer him a little, but they only seemed to make him depressed. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

He looked away, hair falling across his face. Akane hadn’t even realised his hair wasn’t tied back in its usual ponytail. Carefully, she reached up and tucked the loose strands behind his ear so that she could see him clearly. Her hand lingered on his cheek for a moment before she pulled away.

“You feel warmer at least.”

“Inspector…”

“If you’re that worried about not being useful, I can give you some reports to write. I’m sure Shimotsuki can find something for you to do as well. Or,” she leaned in close, as if she was about to share a secret, “you could actually take some time off.”

He winced. “Please don’t make me laugh. Also,” he added in a more serious tone “you’re one to talk, Inspector.”

Akane rocked back onto her feet and stood up with a grin, hoping she could inject some cheer back into the room. “I suppose I have to lead by example, then. How about I take some time off when you’ve healed? You’ll still need time to get used to your new prosthetics again, right?”

Ginoza seemed to seriously consider her proposal, but hesitated in replying one way or the other.

“We can spend a long weekend somewhere,” she said, growing increasingly excited. “Maybe by the sea? The other divisions are just getting back to compliment, so we may even be able to take the whole team. We can take Dime along too.”

His face became serious. “You should be spending time with people outside work. Preferably not latent criminals,” he added, already anticipating her next counterargument.

Akane leaned against the bed, not quite able to meet Ginoza’s eyes. 

“You know better than anyone this job doesn’t exactly lend itself to friendships. And even if Shimotsuki and I, or any of the other inspectors, wanted to meet up outside work, there are barely enough of us to make it a regular occurrence.”

“Are you still in touch with your school friend?”

With a pang, Akane remembered Yuki, but knew whom he was referring to. “Kaori got married earlier this year, so I don’t want to bother her.”

She heard Ginoza sigh. He seemed to be breathing a little easier now, which helped to assuage some of her worry.

“I doubt anyone considers you a bother, Inspector.”

She smiled, despite herself. “Even when I’m rushing into danger?”

“No, but it does scare me,” he admitted.

“It scares me to see you hurt as well.”

“All right. We’ll have a weekend away as a team, but only if you contact your school friend and organise a day with her as well.”

Akane looked towards Ginoza, who seemed to be ready for another argument. It was then that she realised how lucky she was to have someone who cared so much for her welfare. Not that she hadn’t noticed it before, and she knew Ginoza wasn’t the only one concerned about her, but it felt significant nonetheless.

“Thank you.”

“I want confirmation you’re planning to see her.”

“OK.” She laughed a little at his stern tone, then glanced at the time. “I should probably get back to work. Does Dime need anything?”

“I asked Sugo to feed him.” He yawned. “I think the painkillers might have finally set in.”

“Do you want any help?”

They both looked over at the bed, but Ginoza shook his head.

“Thanks, but I’ll probably take some time, so you go ahead. Besides, I’d like to keep some of my dignity intact.”

Akane stepped out and carefully closed the door behind her. Part of her wondered if she should get a doctor, but then again, Ginoza could always call someone if he really needed help. Fortunately, he was no longer too stubborn to ask.

Although she had suggested it mostly for Ginoza’s sake, the idea of going away for a weekend suddenly felt quite exciting. Maybe she would check to see if Shion could be spared as well. Enforcers didn’t get vacation time, but Akane was sure she could argue a case for good mental health amongst the team. With newfound optimism, Akane pulled up Kaori’s contact details and sent her a voice message.

_“Hi Kaori, it’s Akane. I hope you and your husband are well. Are you free to meet sometime? I’ve potentially got some time off and I’d love to hear about your honeymoon.”_


End file.
